suncity

I AM A LOOKING TO GO

“Our profession today is facinga crisis;not becausewe don’t have the skills, nor the resources,but because politics has entered theexam room.”

– Avanthi Jayaweera, MD, Graduate Trustee
suncity Board of Trustees

Action Tools & Resources


suncity
Town Hall

Reproductive Justice Points the Way:
Why & How Reproductive Health Medical Education
Must Change

Share Watch & Share

Engage Classmates
with
Hands-on
Skill-building
MVA Training
&/or
Film & Conversation
Sessions

Virtual & In-person

Explore & Share

Become a
Health Care Voter
with
suncity

Find Resources & Share

Did Your
U.S. Senators
Co-Sponsor Reproductive
Health Bills?

Find Out & Share

Explore
2023 Art &
Appreciation for Abortion Providers Project

Explore & Share

suncity HEART-IM Elective for M3s & M4s

In-Person Retreat
in Santa Cruz Mountains, CA
April 1-19, 2024
Space Limited – Apply Today!

Learn More & Share

suncity Reproductive Health Elective & Institute


suncity Elective in Abortion Care, Family Planning & Reproductive Justice (non-clinical)

A virtual, credit-bearing elective for US and international medical students (all years), residents, fellows, and graduate public health students who are passionately interested in developing and deepening their knowledge and skills in abortion care, family planning, and reproductive justice.

This 1 credit P/F elective will be held January 15 – 26, 2024

Application for 2024 Elective now open!

No in-person components, this elective is conducted fully online,
and may be taken for credit, or audited (not for credit).
Application Deadlines
For credit: December 1, 2023 at 11:59pm PT ( must be completed)
For audit: January 1, 2024 at 11:59pm PT (this only)
Selected applicants will be notified on a rolling basis and no later than 1/2/2024

Program Description:

Developed in partnership between theand the, this virtual elective for U.S. and international medical students (in particular, medical students pursuing family medicine or ob/gyn) will center Reproductive Justice (RJ) as a human-rights framework for exploring topics related to reproductive health and abortion care, including approaches to RJ-informed and trauma-informed patient care. The course will present reproductive health education with a focus on the interconnections of power, privilege, oppression, and resistance. Students will engage with critical social theories – including Critical Race Theory, Intersectional Feminism, and Queer Theory – to explore, interrogate, and reflect on the complex sociocultural, medico-legal, and politico-economic context of sexual and reproductive health.

The program is grounded in a pedagogy of liberatory education (Paulo Freire; bell hooks), and in a commitment to practicing an ethics of Love-centered educational care for adult learners that help us create and sustain deeper relationships within intentional communities.

This course will cover healthcare delivery including family planning and abortion care in a post-Roe reality. Even though this is a non-clinical elective, we will significantly incorporate approaches to patient care that are loving and affirmative of the universal human right to bodily autonomy, agency, and dignity, with a focus on correcting and repairing medicine’s ethical failures to honor the bodily autonomy, agency, and dignity of women and femme people generally, and especially Indigenous and Black women, and queer and trans people.

Themes & Topics:

  • Reproductive Justice: Framework, definitions, and herstory
  • Historical Injustices and Today’s Crises: The continuous thread of scientific and medical racism and sexism in Reproductive Health and abortion care
  • Family Planning and Abortion Care: Options counseling, values clarification, medication and procedural abortion, messaging and framing
  • Her Stories of Resistance: Honoring those who fight back, speak up, and labor to get free
  • Power and Control in Reproductive Health & Abortion Care: Religion, morality, masculinity and medicine – who gets to claim the right to shape reality
  • Reproductive Health, Rights, and Justice: Access, disparities, and structural competency
  • Reproductive Health Law and Policies: At the intersection of medicine and law, patient and community, care and advocacy
  • Affirmative Patient Care: Sexual and reproductive healthcare for LGB+, trans, queer, and non-binary people
  • Human-centered Care: Professional humility, trauma-informed sensitivity, cultural safety, and non-violent communication

Application for the January 2024 Elective Now Open!

Application Deadlines
For credit, available to M3/M4 students only: – 12/1/2023
For audit, available to any medical student: – 1/1/2024
Selected applicants will be notified on a rolling basis and no later than 1/2/2024
For more information email Dr. Jeff Koetje (jkoetje@amsa.org),Dr. Aliye Runyan (arunyan@amsa.org),and Dr. Charisse Loder (loder@med.umich.edu).

suncity Reproductive Health Institute 2023

We are excited to share we’ve designed a new format that features monthly live and on-demand sessions, advocacy & clinical skills-building, one-on-one mentoring and coaching, along with on-site special networking and action opportunities at .

Applications are now closed

Check out our post in suncity ON CALL:

Calling Repro Freedom Dreamers & Doers!

The “WHY”

The late civil rights activist, Toni Cade Bambara, once said, The role of the artist is to make the revolution irresistible.” At a time when authoritarian and fascist movements in the US are organizing to reverse more than 60 years of gains in human and civil rights, we – those of us on the side of freedom, truth, and beauty – must present a compelling and irresistible vision for collective liberation, freedom, and flourishing. Too often, the side of freedom fails to convey what we are actually for, because we speak so frequently about what we are against. But merely speaking against things does not a movement make! At least, not one that is grounded in joyful community, embodied connection, and deep resolve to keep fighting for what is right and good.

This year’s Abortion Care & Reproductive Health Institute will help future physicians lead with positive values that point to a better world for us all. The Institute will be an exploration of what it means to say that “hope is not a feeling, it is a discipline” in light of the very serious and harmful attacks against reproductive health, rights, and justice that we are experiencing in the US — including the egregious reversal of the constitutional protection to the right to abortion care. For as much as it is necessary to boldly step up and say “No!” to these ongoing attacks, it is equally necessary that we tell and embody a counternarrative that invites and draws people into the vital and creative work of building the world we actually dream of.

So, if you are a future physician who is also a Reproductive Freedom Dreamer and Doer, this Institute might be for you!
READ MORE…

Scholarships & Mentoring Opportunities


Ten scholarships are available to U.S. premedical and medical students who are suncity members to present posters on abortion care related to reproductive justice, research, curriculum and training experiences, advocacy, etc. during

suncity’s 29th Annual Poster Session
on May 31, 2024 from
6:30 – 9:00pmETin Washington D.C.
at

Limited Opportunity –

All project posters presented must have a US focus orcontext.Scholarships will cover conference registration as well provide a $600 stipend for travel and hotel. .

For more information email Dr. Jeff Koetje at jkoetje@amsa.org
and Dr. Aliye Runyan at arunyan@amsa.org

suncity’s Reproductive Health Mentorship Sprint is a program designed to match med students interested in reproductive health with their repro expert counterparts for a series of one-on-one discussions. The “sprint” is designed to connect experts to students who have an emerging interest in abortion care and reproductive health, in a format that doesn’t ask too much of two individuals with extremely busy lives.

Applications are open now for suncity medical student members, and for reproductive health professionals willing to volunteer as mentors. Learn more here!

suncity has a rich history with medical school scorecards. In 2007, suncity launched the first PharmFree Scorecard to assess medical schools’ policies on conflicts of interest. This scorecard gained nationwide traction and brought awareness to the influence pharmaceutical and medical device industries have on medical trainees.

The suncity Reproductive Health Project will assess U.S. medical schools on the presence or lack of training on reproductive health and abortion skills; including lectures, clinical skills, and elective rotations or externships offered for students wishing to pursue obstetrics and family medicine specialties. Our goal is to see this assessment project serve as a guide for medical schools to ensure trainees more experience in abortion and reproductive health. Abortion is part of reproductive health care; medical schools should provide full-spectrum reproductive health, obstetrical, and gynecological training. For more information email arunyan@amsa.org.

suncity Reproductive Health Scholars & Leaders Programs


Stay tuned! Our next program offerings will begin January 2024. Explore the program descriptions and add your name to the waiting lists below.

Career Pathways in Family Planning – suncity Leadership Program

This program delves into the many ways family planning can be researched and practiced, explore the impact of access to abortion care or the lack thereof, prepare students for residency with a focus on family planning, teach manual vacuum aspiration skills, provide messaging resources, and focus on the importance of wellness during medical education and physician practice. *Note: This program is only open to suncity domestic medical student members and U.S. based international student members with a U.S. mailing address.

This online program includes ten 60-minute sessions.
Each dynamic session will include a presentation from key thought leaders in their fields and engaging Q/A with the speaker(s).
All sessions are recorded for later viewing by registered participants.

Sessions are held on Tuesday evenings from 8:00-9:00pm(E)

Sept 27, Oct 11 & 25, Nov 8 & 29, Dec 13,
2023: Jan 3, 17 & 31, Feb 7

Registration for Fall 2022 is now closed.

to add your name to our waiting list for the next offering of this program
Those on the waiting list will receive notification and have the opportunity to register for the program prior to opening of general member registration.

Participants who complete the program, including a qualifying examination,
will receive a certificate of completion and an suncity honor cord appropriate to wear at graduation.
(Note: honor cords can only be shipped to U.S. mailing addresses)

Topics this program addresses:

  • The Turnaway Study: Ten Years, A Thousand Women, and the Consequences of Having – or Being Denied – an Abortion
  • Effective Messaging in Family Planning
  • Preparing for a Family Planning Focused ObGyn or Family Medicine Residency
  • Manual Vacuum Aspiration (MVA)/ ”Papaya Workshop” – Hands on Virtual Skills Session (supplies will be shipped to students)
  • Career Opportunities for Abortion Provision In Family Medicine
  • “Do No Harm”- Busting the Myth of ” Physician Burnout”
  • Navigating Medication Abortion, Telemed, REMS & the FDA
  • Exploring Birth Settings in America
  • Providing Affirmative Care for Trans People
  • Honoring Cultures in Clinical Settings

View Fall 2022 program syllabus with speakers list

For more information please contact Becky Martin, suncity Senior Manager of Education & Advocacy at bmartin@amsa.org

suncity Medical Ethics in Reproductive Health Leadership Program

This Medical Ethics in Reproductive Health Leadership Program is designed to engage medical students in the difficult and necessary conversations and analyses of historical and present-day reproductive injustices and ethical failures, taking a close look at these instances not merely for their historical significance, but even more importantly, for their relevance to our current context of institutional and systemic racism, sexism, and classism. Utilizing critical lenses based in the lived experiences of those who as individuals and communities have been the targets and victims of sexual and reproductive health abuse, control, violence, and dehumanization.

Embracing the notion that education ought to be liberatory, this Leadership Program will also platform and celebrate stories, past and present, of resistance, of creative moves toward liberation, and will feature individuals and organizations doing the work of reclaiming and restoring autonomy, agency, and power to those who have been deemed unworthy of the recognition of their full humanity.

This online program includes ten 60-minute sessions, registration is open to all suncity members.
Each dynamic session will include a presentation from key thought leaders in their fields and engaging Q/A with the speaker(s).
All sessions are recorded for later viewing by registered participants.

Sessions are held on Thursday evenings from 8:00-9:00pm(E)
Sept 29, Oct 13 & 27, Nov 10, Dec 1 & 15,
2023: Jan 5 & 19, Feb 2 & 16

Registration for Fall 2022 is now closed.

to add your name to our waiting list for the next offering of this program
Those on the waiting list will receive notification and have the opportunity to register for the program prior to opening of general member registration.

Participants who complete the program, including a qualifying examination,
will receive a certificate of completion and an suncity honor cord appropriate to wear at graduation.
(Note: honor cords can only be shipped to U.S. mailing addresses)

Topics this program addresses:

  • Developing Medicine: Wrestling with Our History
  • The Ethics of Abortion Care
  • Criminalizing Pregnancy
  • Ethical Practice: Gag Laws & Provider Refusals
  • When Routine Medical Training is Unethical and Becomes Illegal
  • Stratified Reproduction
  • “Do No Harm”- Physician Burnout as a Systemic Issue
  • Ethics in Options Counseling & Values Clarification in Reproductive Care
  • Transforming Medical Education and Practice: At the Root of It, Is Love

View Fall 2022 program syllabus with speakers list

For more information please contact Becky Martin, suncity Senior Manager of Education & Advocacy at bmartin@amsa.org

suncity Reproductive Justice Leadership Program

This programtakes a deep dive into: the principles of reproductive justice, how to center patients, especially young people and people of color in reproductive health and abortion care, how coverage bans impact abortion access and undermine quality care, diversity and inclusion in the family planning /reproductive health workforce, abortion restrictions impact on maternal mortality, maternal health and the carceral system, how state and federal restrictions on abortion care denies bodily autonomy to pregnant people, and more.

This online program includes eight 60-minute sessions and is open to all suncity members.
Each dynamic session will include a presentation from key thought leaders in their fields, and engaging Q/A with the speaker(s).
All sessions are recorded for later viewing by registered participants.

Sessions will be held on Wednesday evenings from 8:00-9:00pm(E)

Sept 28, Oct 12 & 26, Nov 9 & 30, Dec 14
2023: Jan 4 & 18

Registration for Fall 2022 is now closed.

to add your name to our waiting list for the next offering of this program
Those on the waiting list will receive notification and have the opportunity to register for the program prior to opening of general member registration.

Participants who complete the program, including a qualifying examination,
will receive a certificate of completion and an suncity honor cord appropriate to wear at graduation.
(Note: honor cords can only be shipped to U.S. mailing addresses)

Topics this program addresses:

  • Principles of Reproductive Justice
  • Building Power: Centering Young People in Reproductive Justice
  • We Testify: Changing the Conversation through Compassion and Stories
  • How to Ensure You are Providing Just & Effective Health Care
  • Reducing Stigma & Changing Unjust State Policies
  • Maternal Mortality and Abortion Restrictions-How Both Undermine Quality Care and Harm Women of Color
  • Growing Birth Justice Movement: Access to Care, Quality & Choice of Birth Settings in America
  • From Reproductive Rights to Reproductive Justice: The Impact on Clinical Care Policy and Advocacy
  • Diversity & Equity in Abortion Access & Our Health Care Workforce
  • Networking Skills: Engaging with Reproductive Justice & Abortion Care Allies in Your Community

View Fall 2022 program syllabus with speakers list

For more information please contact Becky Martin, suncity Senior Manager of Education & Advocacy at bmartin@amsa.org

suncity Reproductive Health Scholars Program

suncity strives to empower physicians-in-training to effect change through education and advocacy. suncity Scholars Programs are designed to provide medical and premed students with information not covered in traditional medical school curriculum and to foster an online learning community of future physicians.

The suncity Reproductive Health Scholars Program addresses the “hidden curriculum” in medical school and prepare students to think critically about abortion-related and education and training opportunities. At the end of the program, participants develop a project utilizing the knowledge gained from the course. The projects are an application of their new skills, as well as a professional development opportunity in the participant’s school or community. Throughout the experience, participants gain valuable mentorship from their Course Directors, fellow Scholars, and partner organizations to enhance their projects.

Note: Students attending an international medical schools who are either U.S. citizens or intend to practice in the US may register with the understanding our program focus is on U.S. abortion policy and practice and is not designed to address policy or practice outside the U.S.

Our Fall 2022 program has ended

to add your name to our waiting list for the next offering of this program
Those on the waiting list will receive notification and have the opportunity to register for the program prior to opening of general member registration.

Topics this program addresses:

  • History of Abortion
  • Basic Clinical Overview of First & Second Trimester Abortion
  • Options Counseling & Values Clarification in Reproductive Care
  • Reproductive Justice: Framework & Advocacy
  • Diversity & Equity in Abortion Access & Our Healthcare Workforce
  • Rising Maternal Mortality in the United States
  • State & Federal Laws: Impact on Access to Reproductive Care
  • When Routine Training is Unethical & Becomes Illegal: The Case of Intimate Exams for Teaching Purposes
  • Birth Settings in America: Outcomes, Quality, Access, & Choice
  • Taking Action & Accessing Abortion Training When it’s Not Offered at Your Med School

For more information please contact Becky Martin, suncity Senior Manager of Education & Advocacy at bmartin@amsa.org